hit me with your best shot
by weloveuntilwedie
Summary: "Well - he's the enemy and she can't sleep with the enemy. Figurally - she can't figurally sleep with the enemy. Oh - no! And not literally either. No sleeping with the enemy - or anyone else for that matter. Oh sweet merciful Barbra, what is she getting herself into?" Finn/Rachel, Finn/Santana friendship, AU, based on a prompt by finchel-prompts


**( a/n song is by me. no jk it's by glee im too lazy to look up the real singers. this is based on a prompt by finchel-prompts, hope i did a good enough job. i was just really bummed about cory but i hope he recovers soon and i support him until the end of time and i love that little muffin with all my heart so here's some finchel because well - finchel! ! ! ! fyi, rachel's dress is the one lea wore to the golden globes this year. and sorry in advance but i didn't really spellcheck oops. btw, a review would mean so much, like literally i would be smiling the entire day ! ! ! ! )**

x

"_hit me with your best shot, why don't you hit me with your best shot? i'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'! hit me with your best shot, fire away!" _

x

"Daddy, I baked some more cupcakes for the campaign," Rachel tells her father as she puts a plate on the counter. It's filled with cupcakes decorated with icing in the colors of the American flag.

He chuckles, running a hand over his daughter's head. "Thank you, sweetie, but I don't think we're going to win over the entire country with one batch of cupcakes."

Rachel beams brightly anyway as her father takes one of the plate and takes it into his office. She's always been a daddy's girl you see, even if it was by default, since she only had two daddies. Her daddy, Leroy, was currently running for office while her stay-at-home dad, Hiram, took care of running most of the campaign. It was the third time the Berry's were running for office but this time it seemed like they really had a shot.

Rachel Berry was all for the competition.

The allure and prestige of being the president's daughter would be great for her future Broadway career. Imagine all the emotions she could pour into her performance. Sans doute, it was songwriting gold. She'll be a true EGOT-star in no time - up there right next to her role-model Barbra Streisand and legends like Liza Minelli and Audrey Hepburn.

Her father's raised her rather competitive, which she doesn't mind of all. Competition is one of the oldest processes in the history of earth - she prefers the term natural selection. Survival of the fittest. She was _obviously_ the fittest since she had a tight training schedule ever since she turned twelve.

She's was one of the youngest kids in her tap dance class and took home her first award in cooking class when she was at the mere age of six. She was a multi-talent, you see. Her daddy always told her she could be anything if she put her mind to it. So, she was convinced they were going to win this presidential election since her daddy obviously wanted it the most.

Besides, what's the point of competing when you don't win, right?

x

She was just doing her morning routine of belting out a few dozen ad-libs in an impromptu performance (she likes to work with whatever song her iPhone's shuffle function offered her that morning - a _real_ artist could make any song their own) when her papa called her downstairs with amazing news.

"What is it, daddy?" Rachel asks as she straightens her sundress and sits down on the couch in their livingroom.

"Here, have some tea, Rachelah," her daddy offers her nervously as he pushes an empty cup towards her on the coffee table.

"We're made it to the final two, baby girl," her papa breaks the news quickly, too excited to have her wait any longer. He claps his hands excitedly, happy to finally be able to make a change in the land of freedom. "We're up against the Hummels. Just _us _and the Hummels!"

"I'm so happy for you, daddy," she smiles widely as she engulfs both of them in a hug. "And you, too, papa. We're so going to win this!"

x

She's walking down the street, almost finished with her chai tea (she just passed those god-awful Hummel banners with their '_you matter_' slogan and lines like '_it's okay to be gay_' that was her daddy's trademark - he was actually gay for Barbra's sake!) when her phone buzzes. Sighing, she takes it out and unlocks it.

_Noah: im lonely wanna cum? ;)_

_Schwimmer: Noah, you know I don't like it when you use crude language like this. - Rachel *_

_Noah: so dats no?_

Rachel rolls her eyes as she stuffs her sparkly, pink phone back into her schoolbag. Her on-and-off boyfriend Noah could be such a pain in the butt. Right now they were off but he was wanting her to opt for a friends with benefits kind of deal. No way she was participating in that. She has class.

Literally _and_ figuratively - if she doesn't hurry up she'll be late to her AP Biology class.

Thank the lucky stars she's only a block removed from her all girls private school - she just needs to pass that artless boil-brained bugbear of a public school (she _really_ needs to stop reading Shakespeare late at night, it makes her come up with the weirdest compositions) and somehow she never seems to make it passed there without being called names at or being thrown passes at.

One time a guy tried to start a white t-shirt contest by trying to throw a variety of water balloons at her, luckily the guy was an idiot and failed to notice she was wearing her all-black school uniform - her white blouse safely tucked away behind her blazer - and since her father's made her take a self-defense class (she's vertically challenged, okay? Her dad's are _all_ about feminism even though they're men) she managed to avoid getting hit straight in the face, only staining part of her arm.

This time, she seems fortunate enough to be just too late for there to still be kids outside on the courtyard and just too early to miss her class. Perfect timing - it's one of her many talents.

She quickly hurries past the school when she bumps into one of them. One of those - public school kids! She's lucky if she doesn't catch anything from him.

"Excuse you!" She exclaims, from the floor because he didn't even have the chivalry to catch her or at least - _apologize_ the second it happened and offer to dry clean her uniform!

It's now (while looking up at the skyscraper himself) she notices he's very, very tall. And broad, he's broad and he has these cute dimples in his cheeks when he smiles and he has very nice brown eyes that have this kind of sparkle in it that just kind of makes her knees go weak (if she wasn't already on the cold hard ground, that is!).

"Look, I gotta hang up, San," he says into his phone, his smile fading as soon as he notices he basically _ran_ her over. (He looks at her like she's some kind of annoyance, a little speck of inconvenience on this already particularly hard day - well, pardon her for walking on the sidewalk in broad daylight, _what could possibly be wrong with her_? Sarcasm, another one of her fine traits.)

"Yeah, I just knocked some chick over I think she's crying."

Crying? Yes, she's definitely a crier (songs, disappointment and general feelings, boys and sometimes just for the sake of a good cry and on rare occasions, she uses a fake cry but only if she wants something _really_ badly) but if this boy thinks she would ever cry over something like _this_ that _he, _of all people, caused - he's never been more wrong!

She hardens her glare, hoping he'll hurry it up because her butt's getting cold.

"Bye, Lopez," he sighs, putting his phone away as he finally turns back to look at her.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles half heartedly, as he helps her up. (She would've gotten up herself but she's a woman of persistence so she crossed her arms and waited patiently for him to finish his phone conversation so he could kindly help her up - like any normal and decent human being _would've_ done before finishing whatever they were doing.)

"I'm grateful for your effort to make such an _elaborate_ apology, but I refuse to accept it," she huffs as she brushes off her skirt and picks up her schoolbag.

"I'm sorry, okay? I just came back from the doctor and I was on the phone and you're like super tiny so I didn't see you and I'm - I'm sorry, okay?" He seems annoyed. Good.

"Well, good. I accept your apology. Although I'm doubting if it's really kindhearted, I'm all for giving people the benefit of the doubt," she nods her head determinedly as she buttons her blazer up.

"Are you always this annoying?" He scrunches up his nose slightly and she can't help but think that's very _cute_.

Still, she's Rachel Berry and Rachel Berry is - well, Rachel Berry.

"Are you always this rude?"

A small smile breaks out on his face, and sure, not to be a total cliché, but she smiles back because he has one of those smiles which makes you want to. Besides, her smiles are totally the best. Who wouldn't want to see it?

"I'm Finn. Hudson," he retorts, sticking out his _huge _hand. She's sure he could cover her entire back with that hand. He's gigantic.

"Rachel, Rachel Berry. I would say it's nice to meet you, but it's really not considering you _tore up_ my tights," she sneers, raising her eyebrows. She does shake his hand because unlike him, she has manners and her daddies raised her to be a polite young lady.

"I would offer to buy you new ones but I'm not sure they would let me into Kids-R-Us. Might think I'm a pervert or something."

"Ugh," she rolls her eyes at his behaviour, spotting the time on her watch. She frantically tries to get passed him but when she steps right, so does she and when she steps left so does he. She would've aimed for the pepperspray in her bag (New York's a dangerous city at night) if he wasn't turning as red as a tomato and profoundly mumbling sorry. "I'm late for school."

"So?"

"Did you not hear what I just said, Finn Hudson? I'm late for school. My perfect attendance record will be ruined! Do you know attendance is a small but critical part of being accepted into college?"

"And you're what? A freshman? Sophomore?" He seems rather amused and she takes another step to the left and this time he doesn't copy her exact moves.

"I'm a senior, thank you very much," she answers, offended and she doesn't know why she lets him get under her skin like that. She doesn't even know him!

She finally passes him and he turns around and she's about two hundred percent sure he's staring at her ass so she turns around also, walking backwards (she's perfected the art of walking backwards over the years, it's one of her superstitious rituals).

"So can I be graced by your presence again any time soon?" He smirks, cocking an eyebrow and he's kind of doing this funny thing to her heart (an irregular cardiac rhythm, dandy - just what she needs!).

"I hope not," she answers, not skipping a beat before turning back around with a smile and fastening her pace (she has short legs, it's not as easy as it seems). To her surprise (and slight annoyance) her smile doesn't fade for the next half hour and she can't seem to get that damn Finn Hudson out of her head.

Still, she convinces herself, she hates him.

x

"You look beautiful, kitten," her papa coos as he admires his little princess in her '_embellished halter gown with a high slit_' (as the Elie Saab site kindly described it to Rachel - she wasn't widely known for her fashion statements with her love for knee socks and animal sweaters so she randomly picked a dress that she thought would do her posture justice), pinching her cheek softly. "You look all grown-up, my little angel!"

"Papa, don't be ridiculous," she says, turning to look at herself in the mirror and fixing her hair for the third time in two minutes. A lot as depending on if she looked and acted her best tonight. They had a high profile charity dinner with a lot of politicians and celebrities and it would be broadcasted live on _national_ television. For someone who's dreamed of being in the spotlights her entire life - reality now seemed less appealing than it did before. There were a million things that could go wrong.

"Do I really look okay?" She asks nervously, biting her bottom lip as she looks into the mirror another time.

"You look stunning! I think we're going to win this election just by having you," her daddy cuts in, squeezing his only daughter's shoulder.

"You're going to be great, princess," her papa agrees as he links his arm with her. "Now let's go spend some big bucks on the ho-ho-ho-meless!"

"Daddy!" "Hiram!" She and her daddy both exclaim his name at the same time only he manages to choke out his husband's real name.

"Sorry," he raises his eyebrows as he sucks in deep breath, "Some people are so touchy."

"This is exactly why we lost the first _and_ second time," Leroy says jokingly, making a show of facepalming himself and Rachel laughs along with her papa.

Rachel sends her father's off in another fits of giggles by commenting on his dramatic act by saying, "Daddy, I hate to break it to you - but _that_ might've been why we lost all those times before."

x

The drive to the dinner is quite long and she checks herself in the mirror every five minutes or so - just to be sure. (It wouldn't be the first time someone showed up with a mascara stains on their nose or their lipstick running on their cheek - it's best to be prepared.)

It's pretty crowded and she's left by herself soon enough, her daddies conversing with important people who have a bigger vocabulary than _her_ - which says a lot.

She talks to the current presidential daughter for a few minutes, her name's Quinn, and her mother was the first ever female president on which she just simply has to compliment the girl on. She's nice, but she's whisked off after a few moments and she's left by herself to starve.

There's absolutely no vegan food beside some fruit, so she's been gnawing on grapes for the past half hour while she sits on her designated seat. She sighs loudly as she reaches forward to grab another handful of the _jolly_ green goodness (it's either this or fainting in front of the entire nation). She can't wait for the show to start - music always manages to get her going.

She checks her phone, inwardly rolling her eyes when she sees Noah's been drunk-stalk-sexting her again. She doesn't know what makes her answer to his advances but she blames it on her own version of the Hunger Games (so what if she's dramatic? She likes being dramatic).

_Noah: can i cum over rite now_

_Noah: pls babe ill be quick rach_

_Noah: babe i wanna lick ur pussy so badly_

_Schwimmer: NOAH, LEAVE ME ALONE! ! ! I AM BUSY AND I DO NOT WANT TO GET MY 'PUSSY' LICKED BY YOU, YOU PIG! ! !_

"Boyfriend?" A voice questions from behind her, sounding quite amused.

A blush forms on her cheeks as she quickly stuffs her phone in her clutch. Leave it to her to be caught the only time she's ever talks like that.

"Ex-boyfriend," she corrects.. him. She turns her head to look at the person, who's taken the liberty to sit down next to her.

"You?" She lets out a small, almost offended, gasp as she studies Finn Hudson himself. He's sitting right there, beside her.

"Me," he chuckles in response as he unmistakingly and obviously checks her out. Does this boy even have any manners?

"What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?" She leans back on her chair, flipping her hair over her shoulder before crossing her arms.

"I could ask you the same thing," he raises his eyebrows challengingly before explaining anyway, "I'm one of the candidate's sons. Burt Hummel's my -"

"Excuse me?" She whispers harshly, leaning closer to him, slapping the palm of her hand down on the table. "You told me your name was Finn Hudson! Are you telling me you're some kind of sick spion? Who even are you? _Double-0-four_?"

She got highlights for this dinner! Highlights! He's not going to ruin this for her.

"My name is Finn Hudson," he smirks and God - she wishes she could just slap that damn smirk off his face! (She would've if she wasn't a lady and it wouldn't take for her to cause a scene.) "And it's _double-0-seven_."

"No," she states sternly, ignoring his latter comment as her hand finds a fork, "It's not. Why did you lie to me?"

His eyes land on her hand and he looks amused. "Are you going to stab me here, in front of all these people?"

"You're disgusting," she sneers as quietly as she can, putting the fork down, using her hands to make wild hand gestures, "You're a disgusting little - no, I take that back - you're a disgusting gigantic lying - _giant_!"

"Calm down, my name _is_ Finn Hudson. Burt's my _step_-dad."

"_Oh_," is the only thing she can manage to stammer.

"Sorry," she mumbles after a moment, before she sits up, trying to explain, "It's just - people lie to me all the time. They're afraid the truth will hurt me and I'll make my dad's finish their social lives - it's like they're part of some kind of mafia gang or something! It's appalling! Like I would get hurt by the _truth_ - I'm Rachel Berry and she does not.. ehm," her voice trails off as she realizes she's ranting - her cheeks coloring this funny shade of pink (that he really likes on her).

He blinks a few times, touching the fabric of her dress, before he says, "You look really pretty tonight."

"I," she stammers, and she hates how he makes her speechless. She _hates_ it. It doesn't look good on her.

"Do you think I could get your number?" He leans closer, his warm breath on her neck, licking his lips before slowly whispering, "You know, so I could give those kind of text messages a try, too."

She lets out a small laugh as she pushes him away, "No, thank you. I get enough of those from Noah."

"I still want your number," he states softly, his hand landing on her bare knee.

"I still won't give it to you," she purses her lips, trying to think of anything but his face as she stares straight ahead - it's like - not okay how close he is to her right now! He's evading her personal space. It's - It's - _wrong_!

"What do I have to do to get it?" He asks and his voice has this kind of huskiness about it that makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and no - she doesn't fail to notice his humongous hand is moving upwards slowly, right where her dress parts into a slit.

She pushes his hand off, fumbling with the pearls around her wrist as she still refuses to look at him but does raise an eyebrow. "If I give you my number will you stop sexually assaulting me?"

He doesn't look at her either, but stares into the same direction as her. "Maybe."

That makes her smile, and she finally looks over at him though (he's sporting the cutest smile and she just - he _has_ to stop this!) and she unlocks her phone, clicks on her own picture and slides it over to him.

"Fine."

Luckily, the shows starts right after and he has to leave to sit with his family. She doesn't see him for the rest of the night and she's convincing herself that's for the best.

x

She yawns as she sits down on the couch, next to her daddy, curling up at his side. Her pj's are so much more comfortable than that dress.

"You're not asleep yet, angel?" Her daddy asks, not taking his eyes of the tv as he runs a hand over her hair.

"No, I can't sleep until I see how we did," she rests her head on his shoulder and lets out another yawn as she plays with one of the buttons on her pink pj's (they're patterned with yellow stars - a metaphor for her being a star). "We're a team, daddy."

"They're talking about Burt Hummel," her daddy informs her as he turns up the volume, knowing they'll be next.

"... later one of Hummel's sons visibly made nice with his only competition and had a nice little get-together with Rachel, Leroy Berry's only daughter, right before the show..."

There's a video fragment of her playfully pushing his chest before laughing and he's smiling goofily and it looks like they're actual friends. It's kind of cute if it wouldn't be so - ugh!

"I didn't know you guys were friends," her father questions her and looks down at her.

"We're not," she states bitterly - she really, honestly hates Finn Hudson (even though she spent the half an hour drive back looking up pictures of him on google and facebook - apparently he's friends with Tina one of the girls in the same musical club as her - just to check out the competition!). Knowledge is power.

"Well, the public seems to think that you are," her father says, focusing back on the tv, "And it looks like it's doing the polls good! The people used to think we were too obsessed with winning and we were too competitive so you befriending our so called enemies has us going up - _fast_!" Her father exclaims excitedly, sitting up.

Usually she hates it whenever he repeats exactly what the news anchor says (like seriously? She's not deaf. Infact, she has impeccable hearing hence she's able to tune a piano with the naked ear) but right now it comes in rather handy since her heart was pounding too fast for her to hear it the first time.

"Well, we're not friends, daddy. Why would be be? We have nothing in common," she says without even blinking twice. Acting is her thing, you see, she's been at the top of her acting class since she was little. Normally, she never lies but drastic situations call for drastic measures.

"Good, because if you hang out with him too much people might start accusing you of dating him which makes us - and the Hummels for that matter - both rather unbelieveable. I can see the headlines already - '_Berry daughter and Hudson son caught up in love affaire; is this how we'll handle Iraq from now on?_'," he chuckles, placing a kiss on her forehead. She swallows hard as she fakes a smile, trying to calm her heart down.

"Well, I'm off to bed. Don't stay up too late, cupcake. Goodnight."

She shakes her head, repeating the sentiment before letting out a huge sigh. Well.. Not like she was thinking of beginning anything but a platonic facebook relationship with him.

x

Later, when she's almost asleep - her phone buzzes.

_Finn: we look pretty gud 2gether ;)_

She closes her eyes, pressing the phone against her chest (because as much as she would like to deny it - he makes her heart flutter) before ignoring his text and trying to go back to sleep because...

Well - he's the enemy and she can't sleep with the enemy! Figurally - she can't figurally sleep with the enemy. _Oh_ - no, and not literally either. No sleeping with the enemy - or anyone else for that matter.

Oh sweet merciful Barbra, what is she getting herself into?

x

After about two weeks of texting (okay, she gave in and started texting back two days after his first text but in her defense he kept sending her cute texts like '_i can't stop thinkin bout ur beautiful smile_' and '_i wish ur face wud stop clouding my brain when i need to study_') she decides to meet up with him for coffee. But not in public because - what if someone wants an autograph and happens to see him sitting next to her? It'd be a disaster.

She tells herself it's okay because the saying goes like '_keep your friends close and your enemies closer_', right? Well, he's _obviously_ her enemy and since her only real friend is a girl (Brittany is really nice but she likes to flaunt her relationship with Sam - one of the hottest guys at the all boys private school near them - in her face quite a lot) and gives out the worst advice by the way, ("Just wear nothing underneath your coat, Rach, he'll love that.") makes it that much worse that she doesn't have much experience with guys. She doesn't have any experience to be honest.

The only boy she ever tried to date got jealous of the amount of solo's she got and broke an egg on her head (the most tragic love story she's ever experience and she's been a vegan ever since), they were eleven but _still_. At least it gave her some amazing Taylor Swift-esque songwriting material.

But that was then and besides - Finn - he's much more - Finn! He's a guy who's into sports and hates musicals and probably eats an entire chicken for breakfast and he's - a guy! A totally, dare she say it, _hot_ guy.

Well, she was not going to let this happen. She was not falling for this guy and this was all going to be smooth and highly professional and maybe she would get a nice _friendly_ friend out of it.

_Professional_, she repeats to herself as she pulls on her jacket to straighten it before ringing the doorbell.

"Hi," he says, smiling (his dimples are showing and she wants to die) and damnit, he looks so good in a simple white v-neck and black pants and nope, she's not going to do this.

"Hey," she manages to say without it sounding too strangled as she steps inside and lets him admire her new navy blue dress with polkadots, it's sleeveless and has a pretty brown belt around her waist.

Professional didn't last very long because last thing she knows - he's showing her some of his old school rock records while he plays one and she pretends to be very interested and then they're making out on his bed while some hardcore metal band plays in the background. It's making her - rather handsy.

Her hands are under his shirt within a minute and his hands are up her skirt and on her legs in _less_ than a few seconds. And it feels so good - his mouth on hers like they're made for each other. His warm skin presses against her tan skin as he kisses her neck and no, really - what in the sweet H.E. double hockey sticks did she get herself into?

So much for professional.

x

She tries to dial it down, she does. But everywhere she turns - there's a reminder.

She walks down the street - there's huge poster of Burt doing the thumbs up and she just thinks of Finn's enormous hands on her body and how good it would feel and - see?

She tries to distract herself with music - there's a damn rap song or radio debate mentioning the Hummels and her father's and she just sees his dopey smile appear in her head like she's known it all her life - God!

She turns on the tv - there's a Hummel commercial about how much '_you matter_' and her mind just wanders off to Finn telling her how beautiful she is and how much he likes her little insecurities and - get it?

She has seen more of her math book this week than she _ever_ needs or wants to and she doesn't even take math.

Ludicrous! She's turning ludicrous!

x

"I hate you so much," she whispers against his neck as crawls into his bed and leans her head on his shoulder. Her eyes droop closed tiredly as she takes a fistful of shirt in her hand and frowns, her hand pulling at every word. "I hate you so, so much."

He laughs softly, leaning down to place a kiss on her head as he puts down the remote and untangles her fingers from his shirt. "No, you don't."

"No," she pouts, finally opening her eyes as she sits up and places fifteen kisses or so all over his face. "I don't."

"What have you been smoking?" He chuckles as he places a kiss on her cheek before taking her hand in his and intertwining their finger. He pulls her into his chest and she sighs sadly.

"You know I wouldn't do that to my vocal chords," she lets out another sigh, "Papa asked me about you today, again. Asked me if I was still hanging out with you because he saw a picture on my phone."

"You have a picture of me on your phone?" He smiles teasingly as he jabs her in the stomach with his finger.

She can't help but smile as she shakes her head, "Remember that elaborate photoshoot you did while I was asleep?" He nods his head, smiling at the memory. She slept over one time, telling her parents she was at Brittany's house and he caught her snoring so decided to record the moment forever. She looked very adorable with her hair spread all over the pillow and her chest rising softly and her pink lips slightly parting with each intake of air.

"I returned the favor."

He groans as he leans his head back on the headboard and she puts his arm around her shoulder, snuggling into his side. "I was going to use them to bribe you in the near future but one of them was particularly cute and so I was simply admiring it for just a second. There he is, peering over my shoulder like I'm hiding this big secret!"

"You are hiding a big secret, babe."

"Not the point!"

"It's getting so tiring, when is this election going to be over?"

They're supposed to watch a movie on his room tonight. He has a bigger house than her so chances are they're less likely to get caught but the chances are still there (and they shouldn't be because well, they should just be able to be with each other) and besides now she thinks about it - there are more people in his house than in hers. Whatever - the point is - they could get caught right in the middle of this - _affaire_.

Last week she had to crawl into his closet for an hour because his brother, Kurt, refused to leave before he told him about his date with a guy named Blaine - _in detail_. The worst part wasn't the waiting but the fact that on various occasions she had wanted to butt in and give actual good advice ("Next time, just, uhm, make sure you let him know you do - ehh - like his hairgel?") because Kurt might as well have talked to a wall but she couldn't because she was supposed to be hiding and she was stuck in the damn closet!

Then a few days ago, they almost got caught at her house because there was no time to hide and so Finn crawled under the bed but _of course_ - he's as tall as the house itself - so his feet were sticking out and a girl could only hang upside down for so long. Her face didn't get back to it's normal color for another half hour.

There was a certain allure to the risk of getting caught and she was getting better at it - the lying - but she was also starting to feel bad about it because, they were a team, you know? The Berry's have always been an excellent and outstanding and extraordinary _team_. And the Berry's didn't deceive.

But sometimes when she looks at Finn this feeling crawls up from her stomach to her heart, this feeling like something was pressing down on her chest, and she felt so happy and lucky and she wanted to be with him _forever_ (like she wants to spend all her free time with him and she wants him to compliment her silly animal sweaters even though he thinks they're stupid and she wants to tell him his drumming is the best even when he missed a beat or two and she wants to make memories with him that she'll remember in twenty or fifty years. She wants a lot of things, _with_ him. Slowly, he's not only evading her life but also her dreams - literally and figuratively. Now whenever she thinks about NYADA she thinks about how Finn will fit into that picture, too).

Then seconds after she would get the worst feeling - like she was losing a baby kitten or one of her fathers or she choked at an audition - and she just - she _couldn't_ lose him.

So to say she got caught up in this relationship (in him) is not even a slight exaggeration and the bad stuff - it's bad. The truth always comes out even when she doesn't want it to and they can't continue the sneaking around forever.

But the good stuff (the kisses that make butterflies stomp around in her stomach and the way he drags his hands over her arm even when he's sleepy and how cute he looks when she tells him _how_ cute he is exactly) that is so much better and now and then she lets the thought of loving him creep into her mind.

x

The finally have some alone time because his parents are out on a date and his brother is standing in line for the new _Grey's anatomy_ dvd-box after not seeing each other for weeks because when they're not touring the country or being home schooled for this semester - their parents are being frustrating people.

"'Sup, bitch?" Santana sits down in between the two of them on the couch and shimmies just long enough for them to let go of each other ("Santana, you made me touch your butt!" "Lucky you, Finessa, it's as close as you'll ever get to perfection.") and looks down at Rachel. "Is this the midget you keep blabbing about? I was starting to think he made you up."

"Her name's Rachel, you know that, _Jennifer Lopez_," Finn nudges her in the ribs with his elbow and she slaps his cheek with the back of her hand. She clicks her tongue, shaking her head, "You come up with the stupidest comebacks, Hudson."

"So, you a virgin?" Santana asks the girl next to her as she puts her arm on the couch behind her. Rachel's eyes go wide as she stares up at the Latina. "Excuse m-me?"

"Santana!" Finn warns her, pushing her legs with his.

She snaps back at him, her long ponytail hitting him the face as she turns her head, "_What_? You haven't sacked her yet - else you'd be all sunshine and rainbows which you are obviously not, sad-go-sucky."

She turns back to Rachel and examines her thoroughly, "Besides, I'm just checking so when you do the nasty with her I don't have to worry about you getting STD's."

"You told _her_?" Rachel scrambles up into a normal sitting position and crosses her arms.

He scratches the back of his head and shrugs a little, "She's my best friend and she does this weird Mexican silence thing which kind of makes you talk and it just kind of slipped out."

"Finn," Rachel whines - she was dying to tell _anyone_ (really, one time she almost told a random old man in the subway) but she didn't.

"I'm sorry," he says sheepishly, leaning over to grab her hand but Santana slaps it away.

"Nope, not toddler grabbin' today. Not with me around, dirty perv."

"That's _offensive_, Santana!"

"Remember the time you asked if my family owned that taco truck downtown, that's offensive, prick!"

"For the thousandth time, it said _Lopez_ on the side!"

"It said Lopez on the side," she mimics his voice like she's a five year old while Finn starts yelling at her for being a bitch which causes her to mimic everything he say in the same girly voice.

"I don't mean to interrupt your little.. moment, but I must leave before I miss my ballet class," Rachel tells them as she gets up from the couch and leans down to kiss Finn.

"That's disgusting," Santana scrunches up her face as she shakes her head.

"Your face is disgusting," Rachel bites back without missing a beat and Finn smiles proudly, because he totally stole that from him. She kisses him again, makes it extra long before finally leaving.

"I approve," Santana smirks as she leans her head on Finn's shoulder. He pushes her head away, but he still smiles because she's his best friend and she likes nobody besides _him_ and now she likes his _girlfriend_.

"Leave."

"My pleasure, Jonah Hill."

x

"Rachel, what is this?"

Oh no, oh no, oh no.

She walks into her room to find her parents sitting on her bed holding a photo of her and Finn they took a few weeks ago and she had been hiding it in her nightstand ever since. He had his arms wrapped around her from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder as they smiled at the camera. Santana took the picture after promising her free McDonalds for a month. ("I might be a Latina but American have this shit figured out!" She said oh-so-properly after finishing her third burger, with a mouthful of the fourth)

It's nice to have someone know, nice to be around people and not having to act like total strangers.

"It's a picture," she states calmly (maybe she'll be able to talk herself out of it).

"I know that," her daddy snaps and her papa tells him to calm down. "Explain," he grunts angrily and she knows she can't act herself out of this one.

"I've been seeing him for a while and I really like him, daddy -"

"They're our enemies! Burt Hummel wants to heighten the taxes and not to forget they support abortion when the woman hasn't been sexually assaulted or when it isn't a risk to her health. And Carole? She wears clothes from Wal-mart, Rachela, Wal-mart. It's -"

"Absolutely horrible you're mendling with one of them!" Her papa adds, distraught. "When will this stop?"

"I was going to tell you," she tries but she gets cut off again.

"You can't leave the house again. No more sleepovers with_ Brittany_ or study dates with Tina - until the end of the election it's you and your 300 square feet room."

"But daddy, I lo -"

"This is not up for debate, Rachel," her daddy gets up from the bed and leaves the room. Her papa gives her a sympathetic smile before squeezing her shoulder and following his husband.

Then it's just her and tears. No team. No Finn. Just tears.

x

She puts on the tv on one monday night and sees Burt.

"_Together. We can accomplish so much more. Every vote matters_," he turns to the camera and points at it, "_You matter_."

She in the midst of crying when her phone buzzes and she almost doesn't read it.

_Finn: i miss u babe :(_

_Rach: I miss you, too - Rachel *_

She is ready to indulge in self-pity and eat her way through enough vegan ice cream to feed a small army when her phone buzzes again. She wishes he wouldn't make it so hard.

_Santana: sup, nose? finn's been cryin like a little vagina al wanna come over? i can get u out n get u discount on da condoms_

She frowns a little (if only these people would learn to use the proper punctuation) before typing a message and sending it. She couldn't do this any longer.

_Berry: Tell me where and when - Rachel *_

x

Santana makes up some lame excuse, something like her taco bell truck caught on fire and her grandma is in the hospital and she could really use a friend and for the night, Rachel envies her acting abilities (she's good but she's not better than her so she has nothing to worry about).

So, there she is, at the Hudson's front door, a little wet from the rain (if this wasn't such a serious issue she would gloat at the great dramatic timing of it all. The rain is perfect for a heartbreaking scene like this.) and when he opens the door she just kisses him.

She wants - needs - to be with him right now.

He kisses her back just as desperately and she thanks whoever is up there that his parents aren't home as they stumble up the stairs. He lifts her up about halfway through, muttering something like, '_quicker_' against her lips before kissing her again.

He lays her down on the bed, and undresses her and she undresses him and he slows down his kisses so they're slow and sweet and it's kind of perfect.

"Are you sure?" He asks for the twelfth time as he kisses her jaw and she nods, "I'm a hundred percent sure, Finn."

When they finish she feels like everything might be okay - which might just be a lie her head's forming itself to protect her heart - but she's choosing to believe in it for now.

"This might be the last time I see you for a while," she whispers against his chest as she draws small circles on it with her fingernail.

He presses his nose into her hair, kissing the side of her head, "I love you."

She props her chin on his chest and looks at him, surprised (surprised he could ever like that for a girl like _her - _look at him, he's a catch - she's just some silly little girl with a crush on the guy's who's out of her league) and he leans down and kisses her nose before kissing her lips.

He repeats, steady like a heartbeat, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

x

Her daddies win.

_Team Berry_. They win and she watches the faces of the Hummels on the television in her room as the loud music from downstairs pumps through the entire house.

She realizes they never talked about this. What would happen if he won or if she won because it didn't seem relevant at the time but now it is and she doesn't know what to do or say.

"Rachela! Come join the party, cupcake," her papa says as he sits down next to her and puts his arm around her shoulder.

"Finn didn't win," she says slowly, the realization hitting her like a slap in the face. Sadly, she adds, "But you're still not going to let me be with him, right?"

Her papa just shakes his head and her daddy walks in, "There they are, my two angels! Team Berry pitches -" he pretends to hold a bat, "and score!" His smile fades when he sees the sad looks on their faces.

"We won," he states and Rachel frowns, getting up from the bed.

"We did, but it was a close call, so close they had to recount twice. Twice," Rachel holds up two fingers and paces around the room.

"Rachel, calm down - if this is about that boy -"

Burt's voice echoes through her head.

"If we work together - unite - we can accomplish so much more," Rachel retorts, finally looking at her daddy. "I love him, I love him so much that for a second I was okay with running away with him and eloping."

Both of her daddies gasp and she nods her head, shocked by her own revelation. "I know, believe me. I would give up my dreams for him because I love him _that_ much."

"Rach -"

"No, wait. I know that what I did was wrong. The sneaking around and the lying but even though what we did was wrong and I don't deny that - when we were together we always worked perfectly. It started to fall apart when _weren't_ together. It was _my_ mistake you found the picture, if I had been around Finn he would've told me to burn it and bury it before you guys found it." She doesn't know exactly what she wants to say, she's just figuring it out herself along the way. "Because strangely enough, _he_'s the paranoid one."

"What are you trying to say here, princess, I don't follow," her papa speaks up as he gets up, too and puts his arm around his husband's waist.

"What I'm trying to say is that..." She takes a deep breath, remembering how she gave up her extra short skirts because it made him jealous (even though she went to an all girl school and basically only hung around girls) and he gave up his daily playstation activity to improve his grades because she thought it was important.

"When you work together - you can accomplish things you never thought you could. All you need is a little respect and some compromise."

Her papa smiles, nudges his partner who looks over at him before letting a sigh and turning to his daughter.

"When did my baby girl grow up so fast?"

x

"... fine, but we at least need to get rid of that '_you matter_' fuss it's not a make-up commercial."

"We're keeping the slogan."

"Then we're giving up the abolition of the exception on the fifth amendment in which hunter's get to keep a gun."

"You got yourself a deal, Berry."

"Babe," Finn laughs as he pulls her away from the door. "Stop eavesdropping when I'm here."

"They're getting along so well," she says excitedly as he pulls her towards the living room and down onto his lap.

Her father had appointed Burt as his vice-president, taking up on her advice to unite. Her papa had even taken Carole shopping ("Sounds fun, Hiram, where do you want go?" "Anywhere besides Wal-Mart, dear, _anywhere_.") and her and Kurt had bounded over Broadway within a matter of days. Team HummelBerrry was going strong and she couldn't be happier.

And her and Finn? They were an unity even more amazing.

"I thought I asked you not to wear these in public anymore," he groans as he runs his hand up her thigh and she leans closer to him, whispering, "I thought I told you shorts skirts were my signature fashion statement."

"So this is the feminism and all? Not listening to your boyfriend?" He plays with the rim of her sweater as she leans into his chest. He's learned a lot of cool new definitions since he's been with Rachel. Like feminism and melting pot. It's totally awesome.

"I _listen_, I just chose not to do what you say," she smirks tauntingly as she leans down and kisses him.

"Well, to be honest I was doing the returned physcology thing you told me about, I was totally hoping it would work and you'd wear them everyday," he smiles proudly and she shakes her head.

"Reversed," she corrects him and he's so adorable she just wants to hug him and never let go.

"Well, I totally love you for telling me about it now I can use it all the time," he drags out the '_all_' drawing figures on her thigh with his thumb.

"Well, I totally love you," she pecks his lips and he tells her '_I love you, too_' before kissing her again.

"Hey Rach?" He asks between kisses and she smiles through the kiss, "Mhm?"

"You should totally wear a bra like _all_ day, _every_ day."

x

**fin.**


End file.
